A Reflection on Cybersecurity Indigenous Educational Experiences

Decolonization and Indigenous education are at the forefront of Canadian content currently in Academia. Over the last few decades, we have seen some major changes in the way in which we share information. In particular, we have moved into an age of electronically-shared content, and there is an increasing expectation in Canada that this content is both culturally significant and relevant. In this paper, we explore the need for Cybersecurity education in rural Indigenous communities in Canada and the importance of community outreach initiatives. Throughout this project we Indigenized Cybersecurity course material, developed educational content and facilitated community engagement through workshops to assess the need for and knowledge of Cybersecurity. Our findings indicate that First Nation communities are very open to and have a strong desire to learn about Cybersecurity and online threats. The continued facilitation of workshops on First Nations reserves and development of educational material related to Cybersecurity is beneficial to Indigenous people and will aid in their pursuit of digital sovereignty as well as bridge the digital divide.